Confusion about verb conjugation and indirect pronouns

[lizaann]

This was part of a confusing "Complete the chat" exercise in Duolingo. Would Yo olvidé la contraseña work, as well? How do you get I forgot my password from the following?

• Anteayer se me olvidó la contraseña y llamé a mi ex.

[Rusty]

The construction used is known as a "no-fault/no fault/accidental se" construction. This construction is used whenever something happens by accident or you can't take or don't want to take the blame for it. So, this construction is very commonly used.

You should not use the straight forward 'olvidé' because that would mean, to the Spanish-wired mind, that you purposely forgot.

You can find more information by looking up "accidental se" or "no-fault (also, no fault) se" constructions. In our forums, click here, here (where the same construction is called 'voz media'), here, or here, for starters.

[lizaann]

The removal of responsibility - fascinating. I wonder if ESL students find English as strange. Thank you, Rusty - I appreciate the help that I receive here.

[Rusty]

Thanks! I'm glad you find the forums useful.

[AngelicaDeAlquezar]

Originally Posted by lizaann

I wonder if ESL students find English as strange.

We do!

See for example the different meaning of "care for" in "I care for the environment" and "I don't care for strawberries".

By the way, I mostly agree with Rusty that, for an accidental case, it's better to use "se me olvidó"; yet, depending on the thing you forgot, the fact that it's not your fault that you forgot something, may be understood in context.
Something as important as a password or your keys, for example, most people would understand that it wasn't done on purpose:
Olvidé la contraseña. Se me olvidó la contraseña.
Olvidé las llaves. Se me olvidaron las llaves.

However, if you say: "Ay, olvidé que estabas aquí" that's probably not a kind thing to say to someone you wish they weren't there.